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Beautiful cinematography and great message, but a little overdramatic
This was almost the perfect melodrama. I really loved the way they portrayed differing worldviews between different characters based on different upbringings.The relationship between the FL and SML were undoubtedly the best part of this movie; I kind of wish they'd have gone more into that because it was short-lived and kind of one-sided. Other than that, the SFL also was a really great character and I also wish she got more screentime. The pacing overall was okay, but plot points aren't really explained much. This movie is more about the feeling.
The anti-bullying message was really powerful, but I kind of wish it didn't get so explicitly didactic near the end of the movie with all the political and legal references.
With that being said, I think sometimes the way the movie was filmed really felt just a tad bit over-the-top, with monologues that were beautiful but so literary sometimes it kind of took me out of the movie because "who talks like that?" Other than that, the filmography is pretty great; there's a lot of time dedicated to montages and stuff though, so if you like a more in-the-scene sort of movie, this isn't it.
I really liked the ending (unfortunately I didn't really cry at all) but overall this was a decent watch.
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A little endearing but mostly cringy and over-the-top
This is pretty much what I expected from a 2011 Taiwanese rom-com; it's a lot of ridiculousness and slapstick humor, and a lot of the main female lead just bumbling around, being clumsy, overreacting, and making questionable decisions.Something about this is a little endearing — I appreciate the absolute mundaneness of the male lead, and of the entire situation, despite many of the plot points being common tropes.
However, the weakness of this movie is really with its characters; the male lead is mundane but uninspiring, the female lead is dramatic to the point of being cookie-cutter. It's pretty unclear why they fell for each other, and the addition of a mean female second lead felt pretty unnecessary. The positives were the aunties, who were pretty much there for comedic relief and succeeded at doing exactly that.
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Cringe and cliche
There were some parts that were actually laugh out loud funny, and that was pleasantly surprising. Overall, however, this went exactly how I expected a 2004 movie to go — chock full of the worst cliches, cringy, and a lot of creepy and problematic scenes turned into humor. A lot of this just didn't sit right with me, including a lot of decisions made by the characters that just did not make much sense to me and felt very cookie-cutter and taken from common movie and tv show tropes. I didn't feel much chemistry between the main characters, partly because of that.Was this review helpful to you?
Fun and endearing
This was a really nice no-brain watch; there were moments that were quite endearing and yet had harsh and realistic implications for the larger policing system. At the same time, because of the humor, I found it hard to feel invested because there never felt like there were high stakes. You always knew things would work out in the end, and even at the most harrowing parts the movie never felt serious.Even so, this movie worked well as a comedy — KHN and PSJ have really great chemistry together and the bromance scenes in this have become so iconic it was fun to see.
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Slow burn, different
So this one was so different from the rest of the other Rurouni Kenshin movies; it was much more of a slow burn and less of an action flick, but it still fit perfectly into the franchise.It was kind of odd watching this and already knowing everything because I had watched The Final before, but that didn't stop this from being any less enjoyable. I'm a sucker for these sort of tragic origin story romances, and this movie was no different.
I loved the chemistry between the two leads, and I loved how the plot played out with its small nuances and future references. There were a little less action scenes than I had wished for (the first two movies had the best fight scenes I'd ever scene) but I understand that that wasn't the focus of the movie.
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Endearing sometimes
There were some parts of this that were endearing and funny; something about how old it is filled me with nostalgia.That's not to say that this movie was perfect by any means — it was really really cringey and overall I wish it had gone in more deeply on the plastic surgery/kpop industry instead of just sort of treating it like a plot device. The romance was something I could have done without as well, although I do have a soft spot for the Secret Identity trope.
Another plus for this movie is that the songs are genuinely catchy — I wish they dived more into that as well, you could sort of tell some of it was just included in order to show the actress' singing chops.
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Slapstick but actually funny
The vibe of this movie was so weird when I first started watching; it felt like one of those Taiwanese or Japanese ads that are just purposely really weird and over-the-top. It was a little offputting at first, but once I got past this initial hump, I actually started to really appreciate how committed the movie was to that tone, and how it actually meant that scenes were genuinely funny, even though I was never a huge fan of slapstick humor.All that aside, this movie doesn't introduce much new content than what is already in the original (for the record, I've only watched the k-drama adaption Playful Kiss). I enjoyed this movie a lot more than Playful Kiss actually — the main female lead felt a lot less pathetic even though I still didn't love the aspect of her continually chasing after the main male lead and having her life revolve around him.
Unsurprisingly, a movie isn't able to spend that much time with the development, and there were definitely parts that I thought were a little jumpy. I did, however, think this was actually better than Playful Kiss in that aspect as well.
There were definitely other characters and subplots that I wish the movie could have dedicated more time to, still. Although I think a full drama is unnecessary, I think maybe a mini series with five-ish episodes would have worked.
Great OST.
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Beautiful backstory
I've said this in every one of my other Rurouni Kenshin reviews so far but I have to say it again: even though I didn't love the fight scenes in this movie as much as in the previous ones, this series still has the best combat scenes I've ever seen, in everything including cinematography, choreography, sounds, etc.The best part of this was undoubtedly Himura Kenshin's backstory and how it tied into the flashbacks we got in previous movies. I was so intrigued by the new pieces of the story we got and it also meant that we got a really good antagonist — one that had personal stakes. I did think the antagonist wasn't as strong as Shishio and it kind of wish this movie had the grandeur of the previous movies while keeping the emotional depth we got in this one.
I also really liked the scenes of our gang being together and as always, I wish we had more of that and of character growth in the side characters, especially Kaoru, who had the most personality during Part I: Origins and seemed to only get more bland and weak with every subsequent movie.
Apart from that, however, I think this movie was perfectly cast and it really makes me look forward to watching The Beginning!
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Some cute parts but very cringe overall
I kind of LOL at this being the first Philippines drama I ended up watching because I'm sure it isn't representative.There are some cute moments and I do enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope — when it's bullying it's always questionable but I definitely don't think this is as bad as Boys Over Flowers / Meteor Garden, though it does have many of the same cliches.
I'm not sure if having more episodes would have helped some issues I had, but I think it would have helped character relationship development for sure; the main leads did have some development but I would have loved more scenes of those. The side relationships also could have used a lot more development; they felt random and out-of-the-blue and because we had no context I just felt like it was taking up time and adding weird dialogue where the characters would cycle through discussing each ship in conversations .
Speaking of which...the dialogue and writing just were really awkward and cringe most of the time. I felt like even regular teenagers wouldn't talk that way — it was like watching a chick flick parody. Though I do admit there were some genuinely funny moments, scenes where the drama didn't take itself too seriously either.
The acting was also not great sometimes — I feel like it was very clear who was a seasoned actor and who wasn't, and many of the side characters were robotic and awkward.
Other than that, there are some subplots that are cliche but still sort of fun to watch, but the writing style and acting felt like something I'd write and act out in middle school and it took me out of the show a lot.
Good OST though.
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Exciting finale to the trilogy, Still the best fight scenes
So this series has the best fight scenes I'd ever seen and this is no different; the choreography, sound effects, cinematography for them are all just amazing and it is definitely something I'd rewatch over and over again. It gets me hyped every time.In terms of plot, this one had the most solid one in my opinion — it had established characters and there was a nice balance between personal growth and battle scenes. I loved seeing more of our main character's past and how he was with his mentor, leading to how he applied lessons to fighting with antagonists. Amazing development there.
The side characters were still consistent and fun, and I do think everyone got some scenes, but part of me did miss having the gang travel, work, live, and just chill together. I loved the scenes they did interact with each other and craved more of them.
All in all, I haven't read the manga so I don't know how great this series is as an adaptation (it sounds good from what I've heard) but as a movie and movie series, it's great and I'd consider it a classic.
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Fun and intense
This movie is different from the first one — there are some things I liked better and some things I liked less.I thought the plot was great — it was a lot more high-stakes than the first one, and the villains seemed to have more backstory and be more layered than the caricature money-hungry villain from the first movie.
This goes without saying but the fight scenes were great (cinematography, choreography, audio, and all).
There was a little less humor in this one, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless, and I don't have a problem with this movie having more intensity and seriousness.
Kaoru is not my favorite character and it doesn't help that both movies ended a similar way because of her; even with that, however, this was a fun movie with a great performance especially by the main actor.
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Endearing with great action sequences
There are some points of this movie that are a bit cheesy, and I wasn't a huge fan of the caricature-ish main villain and the addition of guns (close combat is just that much more captivating).All that aside, however, there was something just so endearing and fun about this being the first movie where we would get all our character introductions and see the gang come together, even if sometimes the storylines felt disjointed.
The main actor just KILLED it though. The transitions from hitokiri badassery to wholesome-guy-carrying-vegetables were great and the combat scenes were perfect, in terms of choreography and cinematography and sound effects. They're just so fun and satisfying to watch, and I especially loved that it was combined with hidden identity reveals.
There was a perfect balance of humor and seriousness — Sanosuke's scenes especially.
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Beatiful — but watch the Director's Cut instead
Title. I had watched the drama version before realizing there were extra scenes and going back to watch those. It's only about 10 minutes more but WOW, that cut added a bunch of scenes I had been craving and wrapped up a few loose ends. I'd definitely recommend just watching that instead of this drama.All that aside, however, wow. This was just beautiful and it had stole my heart from the beginning. 10 minutes in and I was sold. The chemistry between the leads, the little bits of nervousness and secrecy — it was all done so well.
The second half got a little cliche (The director's cut does explain it better than the drama does) but even though it had a twist I didn't love, I felt like it was understandable and it made the later climaxes worth it. Would definitely recommend this, it's going to give me a hangover for a week.
The OST was great too, especially a really nice beach scene with a song called Don't Turn Away by 5 Alarm!
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Life: Love on the Line (Director's Cut)
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Beautiful
I had watched the drama version before realizing there were extra scenes and going back to watch those. It's only about 10 minutes more but WOW, this cut added a bunch of scenes I had been craving and wrapped up a few loose ends. I'd definitely recommend just watching this instead of the drama.All that aside, however, wow. This was just beautiful and it had stole my heart from the beginning. 10 minutes in and I was sold. The chemistry between the leads, the little bits of nervousness and secrecy — it was all done so well.
The second half got a little cliche (The director's cut does explain it better than the drama does) but even though it had a twist I didn't love, I felt like it was understandable and it made the later climaxes worth it. Would definitely recommend this, it's going to give me a hangover for a week.
The OST was great too, especially a really nice beach scene with a song called Don't Turn Away by 5 Alarm!
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Cliche but cute
It's true that this is similar to A Love So Beautiful and Playful Kiss in its cliche premise of the not-so-smart girl chasing after the genius, aloof male lead. But there's actually not much similarity beyond that in my opinion — the vibe is completely different and All I Want For Love Is You is actually less cringy, and the chasing girl isn't as annoying and does stand up for herself.I still wish the FL had more independence and her own ambitions — I thought they could do this with her fighting ability but this ended up being kind of a side humor thing.
There were some good friendship moments but I really think this drama could've used more. There was a lot of girl-on-girl hate even for characters that otherwise had good development, and overall side characters were funny but I didn't love them. (Aside from my sort of second lead syndrome)
At the end of the drama, they also pulled a typical eleventh-hour conflict which really got on my nerves and felt rushed. Other than that, I actually felt like subplots proceeded very smoothly.
Overall still a really fluffy and fun watch despite all the cliches and over-the-top love rivals, and the female lead actress is adorable and perfect in her role!
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